A Tale of Two Cities
by JenLea
Summary: Trish and Randy are expecting their first baby. Instead of the city, they want to raise their child in the suburbs. Yet, when they buy a house, they get more than they ever expected!
1. Welcome Home

A Tale of Two Cities

_Welcome Home!_

Disclaimer: I own no one!

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Trish Orton quietly tapped her long manicured fingernails against the door. She had been stuck in the car with her husband for the past two days. As much as she loved him, he was beginning to drive her crazy.

"Alright," Randy murmured, talking to himself. The directions from Map Quest were in his lap. "Left on Hunt Highway in Copper Ranch,"

They were moving from St. Louis, Missouri to Queen Creek, Arizona. They were expecting their first child, and their tiny apartment just wouldn't have been big enough.

"Randy, where are we?" she asked, shifting her weight. Since getting pregnant, staying in the same position for longer than twenty minutes made her increasingly uncomfortable.

"Somewhere on Hunt Highway…I think," he said. She glanced at him. Out of the corner of her eye, a Super-Wal-Mart came into view. Beside that was a sign that said "Coolidge City Limits". Trish groaned.

"Babe, we're in Coolidge. We wanted Queen Creek. I think we went too far" she declared. Randy smacked himself in the head with his palm. How could he have gotten lost?

"Where should I go?" he asked, making a left turn. She shrugged, glimpsing a sign that proclaimed 'Casa Grande Ruins'. What could that be?

"How about that?" she asked. "I need to stretch anyway," Gently, she stroked her protruding belly.

Randy listened to his wife. The small building seemed to be the right place to stop. Besides, he was afraid that forcing his pregnant wife to stay in the car any longer would be equivalent to tempting fate.

"Um…is this a drive-through gun shop?" Trish asked, getting out of the car. "Am I nuts or is this a drive-through gun shop?" She shook her head; certain she was hallucinating.

"We're at a drive-through gun shop," Randy declared. "I'll go get directions. You go next door and try not to piss off the locals,"

"Why would I piss off the locals?" she asked, waddling off to the convenience store.

Randy finally figured out where he was going. He hoped their new house wasn't in an area like this one. After all, he and Trish wanted to raise their baby in the Suburbs. They didn't want to raise their child in the boondocks.

"Let's go. How far are we from the house?" she asked, slipping in the front seat. Randy gulped. He knew Trish wouldn't take kindly to the news that she would be stuck in the car for another additional two hours.

"About an hour or two," he mumbled. Trish's eyes widened.

"TWO HOURS?" she exclaimed loudly. Randy nodded. "I'm sorry, but I feel like crap, pure and simple," Randy nodded. He understood perfectly.

They drove in silence, except for Trish's groans of discomfort. Randy was sympathetic toward her. She was six and a half months into her pregnancy.

They pulled up to a cream colored two-story house. Randy found it rather nice. His wife was so hard to read. Did she like it? He wasn't sure.

"Trish, what's wrong?" Randy asked, noticing the blatant look of annoyance. She groaned, showing him a piece of paper that she had found in the door.

"We don't have power because of the previous tenants," she declared. Then, his cell phone rang.

As he listened to the movers explain their problem, Randy groaned. Nothing was going right today. Trish was going to freak. He just knew it.

"Honey, our furniture is stuck in Albuquerque," he said. Her eyes widened.

"Albuquerque? As in New Mexico?" she asked. Slowly, he nodded. "No electricity, no furniture. What are we going to do?"

"Make do, like always." He stated. She nodded. "Sweetie, we're going to have to get in the car for another hour. I don't think there's a hotel in this town," Trish groaned and immediately flipped him off.

Randy groaned.

It was going to be a LONG afternoon.

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Just a fic idea from a big city girl stuck in a small town. I swear almost every event in this story is based off of something that has happened to me in the two months I hope you enjoy it.

-Jen


	2. Welcome to Motel Hell!

A Tale of Two Cities

_Welcome to Motel Hell!_

Disclaimer: I own no one!

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Trish grumbled softly, staring at the bleak office of the Motel 6. This motel, the first one they had seen, looked so _crappy._ She wasn't a picky person, but still.

"Come on, we got the last room," Randy declared, climbing back in the driver's seat. Trish rolled her eyes. She was exhausted. All she wanted was to take a hot shower and go to bed.

"Thank God for small miracles," Trish said, rubbing slow circles around her belly. She smiled as the baby kicked. "I hope we're having a girl," Randy glanced over to her.

"What happens if he's a boy?" Randy asked, emphasizing the word he. Trish rolled her eyes and gently swatted him in the back of the head. "He's going to be majorly disturbed,"

"I don't really care if it's a boy or a girl. I just want a girl," she said. Randy rolled his eyes. That was such an oxymoron! Did Trish even realize what she had just said?

The back of the motel seemed worse than the front. Shady looking people hung around, smoking cigarettes. A woman dressed all in black sipped something wrapped in a brown paper bag. Trish couldn't believe her luck.

"Remind me again why we decided to stay here," she muttered, getting out of the car. Randy sighed, wishing his wife was easier to handle. He gave her _some _leniency. After all, she was almost seven months pregnant.

"You held a nail file to my jugular and threatened to kill me if I didn't stop at the FIRST motel we saw," Randy reminded her, pulling a small duffel bag out of the trunk. "Besides, it's not so bad,"

Trish was ready to kill her husband for uttering that. Once they got inside the room, she could see it was bad. It was dark. It was dank and it had an unidentifiable foul odor.

"You were saying?" she muttered, laughing as the baby kicked. The gentle rolling movement amazed her. She couldn't believe she was pregnant. Even seven months later, it still seemed surreal.

"Okay, maybe this place is pretty bad," he admitted, setting the duffel bag down. He looked around, wishing the room were better. He hated seeing Trish uncomfortable. She was just so _pregnant. _She needed to be comfortable.

She gently seized his hand and placed it in the center of her rounded belly. His eyes widened as the, _their, _baby jabbed him in the palm. He couldn't believe they were going to be parents. It seemed so strange.

"I'll run across the street to Burger King. You need to eat," he said. Rifling through the duffel bag, she nodded. "I've got the key,"

As the door shut behind Randy, she removed her shirt. Gazing intently in the mirror, she ran her hand over her belly. Angry red stretch marks crisscrossed over her taut skin. A tear sprung to her eyes, as her belly jolted. The baby was eager to say hello and make its mother acknowledge its presence.

_Oh_,_ Little One. Mommy didn't forget you, _Trish thought. She maneuvered herself into the small bathroom. She was slightly amused to realize she barely fit. She needed to shower. She felt filthy.

The warm water sprayed over her aching body. The warm water soothed tense muscles. As she calmed down, she began to realize she wasn't as angry with Randy as she had originally thought. In fact, she hadn't been angry with him at all! If anything, she had been more annoyed than anything.

As the door opened and Randy called her name, she came out of the shower. If anything, she would at least have to make it up to him.

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What do you think? I hope you enjoy it. Enjoy, as I wither away in the country! Queen Creek's not so bad, except for we're missing a mall and a library. Enjoy!

-Jen


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